Claims of Formaldehyde In Charleston Showers Disputed

January 30, 2014

CHARLESTON (AP) - State officials and a water company strongly disputed a scientist's claim Wednesday that residents were likely breathing in traces of formaldehyde while showering after the chemical spill, saying the chemical that tainted the water supply only produces the carcinogen at extremely high temperatures.

The crude MCHM that spilled into the water supply on Jan. 9 ultimately can break down into formaldehyde, West Virginia Environmental Quality Board vice-chairman Scott Simonton told a state legislative panel Wednesday. Simonton, who is also an environmental scientist at Marshall University, said the formaldehyde showed up in three water samples at a downtown Charleston restaurant as part of testing funded by a law firm representing businesses that lost money during the spill.

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Photo providedIn this photograph from the Charleston Daily Mail, U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin, right, speaks with an unidentified man at the Freedom Industries site Tuesday in Charleston. Goodwin said members of the FBI Hazardous Materials Response Unit are in the process of collecting documents and evidence while interviewing witnesses of the Jan. 9. chemical spill.

She said Simonton isn't a part of the interagency team that has been testing water samples.

Tierney said her agency is unaware of how Simonton's study was done, including sampling, protocol and methodology.

"His opinion is personal but speaks in no official capacity," Tierney said.

Simonton, who holds a doctorate in engineering, was appointed by the governor to the board that hears appeals on state water permitting and enforcement decisions. He was first appointed more than a decade ago by then-Gov. Bob Wise for his first five-year term.

Tierney said experts who have been assisting the state said the only way for formaldehyde to come from MCHM is if it were combusted at 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

West Virginia American Water called Simonton's opinion "misleading and irresponsible."

University of Washington public health dean Dr. Howard Frumkin, an environmental health specialist, suggested that officials use caution when interpreting the results of the water tests that Simonton cited, including asking whether the chemical was present before the spill.

Initial testing at Vandalia Grille in Charleston showed traces of the chemical in the water - twice at 32 parts per billion and once at 33 parts per billion, Simonton said. Other testing showed no traces of formaldehyde, but samples are still being processed. The testing is funded by Charleston law firm Thompson Barney LLC.

"I can guarantee that citizens in this valley are, at least in some instances, breathing formaldehyde," said Simonton.